Residents

PGY3

Penelope Carter, MDUniversity of Virginia School of Medicine

I grew up in the suburbs of Connecticut, went to high school in New Hampshire, and completed my undergraduate degree in English at Harvard University. After several years of teaching, tutoring, and exploring the world, I found my way to medicine and medical school at the University of Virginia. My early fascination with character and theory of mind combined with my love of medical science when I found Psychiatry. I'm so excited to be continuing my training at UPenn, driving into the plethora of opportunities that the department has to offer and driving into an intense year with an incredibly diverse, supportive, and passionate class! In my free time, I look forward to exploring beautiful historic Philadelphia, from trail running in Wissahickon Valley Park to sampling delicious edibles at the 9th Street Italian Market.

Francesca Engel, MDUniversity of Pittsburgh School of Medicine

Greetings! I am delighted to be a part of the Penn Psychiatry family! Until recently, I was a practicing internist and the medical director of the Women's Health Center at the Philadelphia VA. I went to medical school at the University of Pittsburgh, School of Medicine and completed internal medicine residency at Penn. Over the years practicing primary care and women's health, I came to appreciate my dearth of skills when caring for patients with mental illness and decided to take the plunge into psychiatry.

I have two school age daughters and live with my family in West Philadelphia. I love to cook and you can often find me outside running or gardening. If you are new to the area, I can be a great resource on living and working in West Philadelphia.

Stephanie Fosbenner, MD, MPHUniversity of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine

Hi everyone, my name is Stephanie. I grew up not too far away in Perkasie, PA, which instilled in me a deep appreciation for the outdoors, neighborliness, and small town life. I studied Neuroscience at Lafayette College. Domestic and international community service experience in college sparked my interest in public health and the social determinants of health. These interests led me to Boston, where I completed a Master's degree in public health at the Harvard School of Public Health and worked on community health projects involving adolescent health and domestic violence. Inspired by physicians I met while completing my MPH who were working at the interface of medicine and public health, I decided to pursue medical school, and headed south to the University of South Florida Morsani College of Medicine in Tampa, FL. During medical school, I continued to cultivate my interests in public health. My primary interests are in community/public psychiatry, integrated care, and first break psychosis. I chose Penn because of the numerous opportunities I believe the health system and Philadelphia more broadly will afford me to further my interests in public psychiatry, as well as the friendly and welcoming vibe I gleaned from the department and residents on my interview day. In my spare time, I like to take pictures, explore new restaurants, and be outdoorsy, including biking and running along the Schuylkill River Trail.

Maryem Husseinm, MD, PhDNew York University School of Medicine

I was born in Madison, Wisconsin and spent some time living in Cairo, Egypt and Calgary, Canada before landing in Abington, Pennsylvania. I stayed local and went to Haverford College for undergrad where I majored in Biology and took two years off to work in a lab before joining the MD/PhD program at NYU. During graduate school, I studied the regulation of nuclear hormone receptor transcriptional activity. I chose Psychiatry because I find the intricacies of the mind to be a continuous source of intrigue and the diseases of the mind to be the most devastating. I am looking forward to joining the field in trying to understand how life experiences and our genetic makeup influence brain biochemistry and behavior. I am super pumped to be back in the Philadelphia area and am so excited to be at Penn. My hobbies include keeping up with the Kardashians, celebrity gossip, reading internet comments, and sleeping.

Marko Mircetic, MD, MPHJohns Hopkins University School of Medicine Post Peds Portal Program

It's never too late to have a happy childhood! I joined the University of Pennsylvania and its Post-Pediatric Portal Program after several phases of self-discovery. Originally from the Midwest, I spent a year in Nigeria after undergrad to do a Fullbright Fellowship in scientific publication. After a harrowing personal experience, I decided to spend the next two years researching how we develop immune memory following Malaria exposure with the National Institutes of Health. This work gave me the chance to travel between the D.C. area and Mali. With a strong interest in global health, I pursued an MD/MPH at Johns Hopkins University and had dual interests in pediatrics and psychiatry. My favorite experience in Baltimore was the opportunity to work with adolescents charged as adults awaiting trial at the Baltimore City Detention Center through a Schweitzer Fellowship. I moved to Houston to complete my pediatrics residency at Texas Children's Hospital, which gave me the opportunity to work with families affected by HIV in Malawi. I then moved up to Boston for a neonatology fellowship at the Harvard Combined Program. Although I originally envisioned myself an intensivist, I discovered over time that it's never too late to re-evaluate career priorities to find a vocation that makes you happy. Penn welcomed me with open arms, and I am extraordinarily happy in the City of Brotherly Love. Our program is unique for its balance of therapy and pharmacology, and I look forward to becoming a well-rounded psychiatrist with infinite compassion toward my patients. On a typical day, you'll find me with Sprout, my lovely little mutt, at the Schuylkill River Dog Park.

Sheyda Moshiri, MDUniversity of Washington School of Medicine

I'm originally from California, went to high school in Israel and then attended college at UC Berkeley where I studied public health. My interest in primary care and underserved communities brought me to medical school at the University of Washington where I got to learn medicine in a wide variety of settings, and spent time in Wyoming, Idaho, and Alaska. My interests within psychiatry include addictions, psychosis and emergency care. In my free time, I enjoy browsing netflix, cooking, hanging out with friends & family (& dog), and playing music.

Alexander Moxam, MDSidney Kimmel School of Medicine, Thomas Jefferson University

I'm originally from Baltimore, then packed up to Florida to attend Eckerd College. There I majored in Film with minors in Biology and Chemistry. After my years on the Gulf, I spent a year in Honduras teaching high school science, before triumphantly returning home to wait tables at the local Melting Pot and to apply to medical schools. Jefferson was the school I was destined to study, as it was the one to accept my application; and so, my deep love with Philadelphia began. After four years in Philly, it was off to sunny LA to start my psychiatry residency at USC. But my love for Philly was calling and I was drawn to Penn's focus on therapy and opportunity to train within an institute that is creating and expanding the realm of CBT. Here, I am excited to work in early psychosis clinics focusing on community care and early interventions. I also have an interest in addiction psychiatry, specially the neuropsychiatry of impulse control and the pharmacotherapy used to lessen or satiate cravings.

Eli Muhrer, MDHarvard Medical School

I grew up right near Penn in the Philadelphia area and am excited to be back home in my favorite city. I went to Vassar College where I majored in psychology. After graduating, I did a pre-med post-bac at Bryn Mawr College. I then completed a 2-year fellowship as an IRTA at the National Institutes of Mental Health doing fMRI research and drug trials with bipolar and mood dysregulated children/adolescents. After this, I went to Harvard Medical School where my love of psychiatry grew. What struck me most on my Penn interview day was how genuine, united, and warm the residents were. I plan to do Child/Adolescent Psychiatry, however, I am excited to learn about all areas of psychiatry in Penn's wide range of healthcare settings. During my free time, I maintain my coffee addiction, compulsively count my daily steps, and consume stir-fry.

Tuua Ruutiainen, MD, MBETulane University School of Medicine

I was born in Finland and moved to Maryland when I was three. I went to Penn for college where I fell in love with bioethics. At the same time, I had my first formal exposure to psychiatry when I shadowed a psychiatrist at Johns Hopkins Hospital working with HIV and chronic pain patients. My experience convinced me early on that I wanted to become a psychiatrist. After college, I completed a Master of Bioethics at Penn, with a thesis focusing on the ethics of testicular tissue cryopreservation for pediatric cancer patients. I went to medical school at Tulane University School of Medicine. Working with underserved patients in New Orleans, I discovered a deep passion for social justice and ethical issues related to access to care. I am thrilled to return to Penn and Philadelphia. I am especially excited about the Ethics Track and psychotherapy training. Outside of the hospital, I am looking forward to exploring art museums, discovering new restaurants, and going to First Fridays.

Agin Thomas, MDTemple University School of Medicine

Hey guys, my name is Agin. I was born in India, celebrated my first birthday there then came to Philly and have been here since. With that said, it is only recently that I have begun to spend time in the center city areas and really appreciate what all the city of brotherly love has to offer. I was a religion major in undergrad, focusing on Asian studies, specifically Buddhism. It is with that experience my interest in mental health first cropped up and started to take root. When I did my psych rotations in medical school, I knew I had found my calling-love at first encounter. The cherry on the top was finding and becoming a part of the Penn family. Only a few weeks in and I knew beyond a shred of doubt life has a lot of amazing things in store for us. Side notes: I am gung-ho about hot yoga and swear by it and love dance, especially hip-hop cultural fusions… Interest in either of those? Would love to connect!

Sheila Upadhyay, MDSt. George University of Medicine Post Peds Portal Program

Howdy! I'm Sheila Upadhyay, one of the Child Psychiatry fellows and loving it! I am originally from Sugartown, Texas, was a proud member of the Fighting Texas A&M Aggies, then I went to medical school at St. George's University and completed pediatric residency in Long Island at Schneider Children's Hospital. After residency, I had the privilege to serve int he National Health Service Corps as a general pediatrician in the The Bronx, where I fully appreciated the need for behavioral health specialists and solidified my desire to become a Child and Adolescent psychiatrist. This year, working with the Penn Psychiatry team has been fascinating and fun! Of late, along with my husband and toddler, we are soaking up all the family fun, summer concerts and rich history Philly has to offer!

Ayyappan Venkatraman, MDColumbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons

I was born and raised in Lanham, Maryland, played Indian classical percussion for most of middle school and high school and went to Amherst College for undergrad where I studied music composition. I then moved to New York after graduating in 2009 to work in the music industry and did a year with Americorps working for the Mayor's Office of New York City. I started medical school at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in 2011 where I worked for several free student run clinics, played in a few med school bands and took one year off between 3rd and 4th year to train in Indian classical music, do yoga, and play an unreasonable amount of videogames like Metal Gear Solid, Halo 5, and of course Super Smash Bros (Wii U).

Yi Wang, MDUniversity of Virginia School of Medicine

I was born in Beijing, China, but moved to the States as a child and went to school in Radnor, just a few Septa stops away from Philadelphia. I studied microbiology and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh, and secretly preferred the study of human behavior and psychopathology to bacteria and viruses. I went to UVA for medical school, and spent time conducting research on the medical burden of intimate partner violence in the US and in Rwanda, with the hope of gaining a better understanding of the sequelae of physical abuse. I love being back in Philadelphia, my home! I'm so excited to be part of the Penn Psych family and to explore my interests, which include forensic psychiatry, moral dilemmas in medicine, and psychodynamic psychotherapy. The most rewarding moments during my time in residency has been volunteering with the Philadelphia Human Rights Clinic, hosting medical student book clubs, and hanging out with my residency class. In my spare time, I also like to cook up questionable food combinations, read short stories, buy too many houseplants and watch horror movies.

Albert Yu, MDUniversity of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine

Call me a homebody, but I was born, grew up, and also studied in Central New Jersey for the first 22 years of my life before coming to Philadelphia and Penn for medical school. Since then, Philadelphia has become my new home and I am still (apparently) quite the homebody, having decided without reservation to remain at Penn for residency. The warmth, guidance, and mentorship that Penn Medicine in general and the Department of Psychiatry in particular have offered me have been transformative, both personally and professionally. If my years as a medical student were any indication, the coming years as a resident will be a phenomenally exciting and memorable time in my life. At this early time, I find myself very much undifferentiated, although I am most drawn to working with patients struggling with acute psychosis and substance abuse and withdrawal. In my free time, I enjoy running along the Schuylkill River Trail, watching Japanese Anime with my two cats and beautiful wife, and writing science fiction featuring flying robots, ace pilots, spaceships, and the inevitable conflict that arises in any plot involving these elements.